The best defenders of the 00s

Successful teams tend to be built on rock-solid defences – and rock-solid defences tend to be comprised of exceedingly good defenders.

From no-nonsense centre-halves to gallivanting full-backs, the first decade of the 21st century saw some absolute superstars grace the pitch in that department.

Here, we run through the finest purveyors of the art of defending during the 00s.

32. Theodoros Zagorakis

Based on his club career alone, Theodoros Zagorakis would not make this list – but as captain of the Greece side which so memorably upset the odds to win Euro 2004, he warrants inclusion.

Clearly a legend in his country, the centre-back left Leicester City for AEK Athens in 2000, moving to Bologna after that extraordinary Greek triumph – then retiring at PAOK, before embarking on a career in politics.

31. Jonathan Woodgate

Jonathan Woodgate was one of the best defenders on the planet – for all too brief a time, as injuries robbed him of what should have been a glorious career.

Having starred for Leeds and Newcastle at the beginning of the 00s, Woodgate was limited to just 14 appearances for Real Madrid – who he joined for £13.4m in 2004 – but later returned to the peak of his powers at Tottenham, helping them to 2007/08 League Cup victory.

30. Lucio

Ever present during Brazil's victorious 2002 World Cup campaign, Lucio spent his best years in the Bundesliga – starring for Bayer Leverkusen then Bayern Munich, reaching the Champions League final with the former and winning three German doubles with the latter.

The aerially dominant centre-half earned 105 caps for his country, with whom he also lifted the Confederations Cup on two occasions.

29. Lauren

Assured of iconic status at Arsenal as a key member of Arsene Wenger's 2003/04 Invincibles, Lauren later became a club ambassador for the Gunners.

The Cameroonian right-back featured 242 times for the North London club, scoring 11 goals – including a match-winning penalty against arch-rivals Tottenham to edge Arsenal towards the 2001/02 Premier League title.

28. Sami Hyypia

Finnish favourite Sami Hyypia grew up a Liverpool fan – and became a Liverpool player in 1999, winning six major trophies during a successful decade-long stay at Anfield.

Always a threat from set-pieces thanks to standing a towering six-foot-four tall, Hyypia played a key role in the Reds 2000/01 treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup – and their memorable 2004/05 Champions League triumph.

27. Joan Capdevilla

The left-back in Spain's 2010 World Cup-winning side, Joan Capdevilla was unique: he was the only member of that team not to play for either Real Madrid or Barcelona, instead plying his trade for Villarreal.

Capdevilla also starred in La Roja's run to glory at Euro 2008 – their first major tournament triumph – having lifted the Copa del Rey with Deportivo La Coruna in the 2001/02 campaign.

26. Paulo Ferreira

One of Chelsea's first signings under his Portuguese compatriot Jose Mourinho, Paulo Ferreira spent nine trophy-laden years with the Blues – picking up Premier League winners medals in 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2009/10.

A reliable presence at right-back, Ferreira made 214 appearances for Chelsea and was a member of the Portugal team which finished as Euro 2004 runners-up on home soil.

25. Steve Finnan

Arguably one of the most underrated defenders in Premier League history, Steve Finnan went from non-League Welling United to Liverpool in the space of eight years – joining the Reds from Fulham in 2003.

A popular figure at Anfield, the Republic of Ireland right-back featured 219 times for the Reds in all competitions – winning the Champions League in 2004/05 and the FA Cup the following season.

24. William Gallas

One of very few players to have turned out for London rivals Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, William Gallas featured for both of the former two during the 00s.

The versatile centre-back was a regular in Chelsea's 2004/05 and 2005/06 Premier League title-winning sides under Jose Mourinho, while he didn't miss a minute as France reached the final of the 2006 World Cup.

23. Kolo Toure

A veteran of 225 Premier League appearances for Arsenal, Ivory Coast icon Kolo Toure played in all but one game of the 2003/04 Invincibles campaign.

Signed from Ivorian outfit ASEC Mimosas in 2002, Toure also won two FA Cups with Arsene Wenger's Gunners – and helped them to the final of the Champions League in 2005/06.

22. John Arne Riise

A 21st-century Liverpool legend, John Arne Riise joined the Reds from Monaco in 2001 and went on to make 348 appearances during a seven-year spell at Anfield.

The Norwegian full-back with a rocket of a left foot scored some stunning goals during his time in a Liverpool shirt – none more famous than his free-kick piledriver against Manchester United – and crossed for the Steven Gerrard header which sparked 2005's Miracle of Istanbul in the Champions League final.

21. Pepe

That Pepe played on at the highest level past his 40th birthday is testament to his quality – but the enduring Portuguese centre-half was at his best during the second half of the 00s.

While not universally popular for some of his... unsavoury antics on the pitch, Pepe was a rock at the back for Porto – earning himself a 2007 move to Real Madrid, where he was a La Liga champion in his first season and made a total of 334 appearances.

20. Eric Abidal

A serial trophy winner with Lyon and Barcelona, Eric Abidal was part of the Pep Guardiola Barca team which might go down as the greatest of all time – collecting his first of two Champions League winners medals in 2008/09, as part of an historic treble.

At international level, the left-back earned 67 caps for France – helping Les Bleus to the 2006 World Cup final, and also featuring at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup.

19. Ledley King

Even with the chronic knee problem which left him unable to train properly towards the end of his career, Ledley King was one of the finest centre-halves the Premier League has ever seen.

A one-club man at Tottenham – who he captained – King – a member of England's Euro 2004 and 2010 World Cup squads – was labelled an "absolute freak" by manager Harry Redknapp for his ability to perform at such an elite level, and he held the record for the fastest ever Premier League goal for 18 years.

18. Gary Neville

In a 19-year career spent entirely at Manchester United, all-time Premier League great Gary Neville won eight English titles – five of which came during the 2000s.

One of the first names on Sir Alex Ferguson's team sheet from 1995 until 2007, the tenacious, old-school right-back captained United for five years after Roy Keane's departure – and received 85 England caps, playing at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.

17. Sol Campbell

Sol Campbell caused an almighty stir when he crossed the North London divide to join Arsenal from Tottenham in 2001 – bit he would establish himself as one of the world's top centre-backs during his five years with the Gunners.

Named in the Team of the Tournament at the 2002 World Cup – where he scored his sole England goal, a winner against Sweden in the group stage – Campbell won two Premier League titles with Arsenal, playing a starring role in the 2003/04 Invincibles campaign.

16. Javier Zanetti

A supremely versatile operator, Javier Zanetti was as effective at right wing-back as he was at the base of midfield – spending almost his entire career with Inter Milan.

One of Argentina's most-capped players of all time, Zanetti was named Inter captain in 2001 and held the armband for 13 years – notably starring in the Nerazzurri's 2009/10 treble-winning campaign.

15. Lilian Thuram

A seriously classy defender right up until the end of his career, Lilian Thuram starred for Parma, Juventus, Barcelona and France during the 00s – helping Juve to successive Serie A titles in 2001/02 and 2002/03, as well as the Champions League final in the latter season.

Renowned for his intelligence on and off the pitch, Thuram lifted the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 with his country – and was France's most-capped player for more than a decade, featuring 142 times for Les Bleus in all.

14. Ricardo Carvalho

Just like Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho followed Jose Mourinho from European champions Porto to Chelsea in 2004 – and proved integral to the Blues' first two Premier League triumphs.

What the Portuguese lacked in physicality, he more than made up for with his expert reading of the game and fantastic passing ability – attributes which helped him win five league titles (three in England and two in Portugal) between 2002 and 2010.

13. Dani Alves

Dani Alves won most of his many career trophies from 2010 onwards – but the Brazilian was well on his way to greatness in the 00s, setting himself firmly on the path to becoming one of the greatest full-backs in history.

Truly immense in and out of possession, Alves rose to prominence at Sevilla – helping them to back-to-back UEFA Cups in 2005/06 and 2006/07 – earning himself a 2008 move to Barcelona, playing a starring role in their 2008/09 treble-winning campaign.

12. Patrice Evra

Signed from Monaco in 2006, Patrice Evra became arguably the best left-back in the game at Manchester United – where he scooped Premier League winners medals in each of his first three seasons (plus two more early the following decade).

The finest hour of the Frenchman's career came in 2007/08, as he helped Sir Alex Ferguson's United to a Premier League and Champions League double – having been a runner-up in the latter with Monaco four years earlier.

11. Philipp Lahm

A quite remarkable player capable of operating in either full-back position or in midfield, Phillip Lahm has to go down as an all-time great of the German game.

Captain of Bayern Munich and his country (who he would lead to World Cup glory in 2014), the diminutive but devastating Lahm also had some stunning goals up his sleeve – perhaps none more notable than his opener against Costa Rica in the first game of Germany's home World Cup of 2006.

10. Nemanja Vidic

Much was expected of Nemanja Vidic when he joined Manchester United from Spartak Moscow midway through the 2005/06 season – and goodness did the Serbian centre-back live up to expectations.

One of the best ever to practise the art of defending, the notoriously tough Vidic was United skipper for his final four seasons at Old Trafford – leaving in 2014 as a five-time Premier League champion and a Champions League winner.

9. Carles Puyol

Carles Puyol's iconic hairdo alone would earn him a spot pretty high up this list – but the Barcelona and Spain legend's defensive ability exceeded the lusciousness of his curly locks.

Nicknamed El Tiburon (The Shark), Puyol belongs among the greatest captains in football history – and he notably wore the armband during Barca's 2008/09 treble triumph, which fell between his European Championship and World Cup victories with Spain.

8. Paolo Maldini

Paolo Maldini's utterly epic career spanned 25 years, beginning in 1984 and ending in 2009 – and the Italian great, who spent that whole quarter-of-a-century with AC Milan, performed to the peak of his powers until the very end.

He retired from international football too early to be a part of Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning team, but Il Capitano – who wore the armband for club and country – tasted Champions League glory an incredible five times, with the last of those European crowns coming in 2002/03 and 2006/07.

7. Roberto Carlos

Roberto Carlos might just be the most attacking full-back the game has ever seen: the brilliant Brazilian was dazzlingly good at he did, spending the bulk of his career at Real Madrid.

Integral to Brazil's 2002 World Cup victory, Roberto Carlos also won three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues with Real between the 1999/2000 and 2006/07 seasons – scoring a fair few of his customarily spectacular left-footed goals along the way.

6. Cafu

Brazil won the 2002 World Cup with Roberto Carlos on one side of their back four and Cafu on the other – with the latter captaining his country en route to glory in South Korea and Japan.

A fine example of longevity at the top level, flying right-back Cafu – who had previously been a World Cup winner in 1994, and a runner-up in 1998 – won Serie A titles with Roma and AC Milan in the early 00s, and the 2006/07 Champions League with the latter (before stunningly agreeing to sign for English non-League outfit Garforth Town).

5. Ashley Cole

Probably the greatest left-back in Premier League history, Ashley Cole was a title winner with Arsenal – including as an Invincible in 2003/04 – and Chelsea, reaching the final of the Champions League with both clubs (and eventually winning it with the latter in 2011/12).

An exceptional attacking full-back who idolised Roberto Carlos, at international level, Cole featured 109 times for England – making him one of the Three Lions' most-capped players of all time – and was included in the Euro 2004 Team of the Tournament.

4. Alessandro Nesta

Everything Alessandro Nesta did on a football pitch, he did with the effortless elegance you'd expect from one of the finest Italian players of all time – and it yielded him a plethora of silverware.

A Serie A champion with Lazio in 1999/2000, Nesta joined AC Milan in 2002 and won his second of three career Scudetti with the Rossoneri in 2003/04 – a year after his first of two Champions League triumphs, and two years before winning the World Cup with Italy (although injury cruelly ruled him out of the tournament's knockout stages).

3. Rio Ferdinand

Twice the most expensive defender of all time, legendary Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand was something of an outlier during his career: excellent on the ball, his style was much more continental than that of most of his English contemporaries.

And it helped the former Leeds and West Ham starlet stand out as one the finest defenders of his era – or any era, for that matter – as he won four Premier League titles and the Champions League between his 2002 switch to Old Trafford and the end of the 00s.

2. Fabio Cannavaro

Italy's inspirational 2006 World Cup-winning captain, Fabio Cannavaro became the first ever defender to win the Ballon d'Or after leading the Azzurri to that memorable triumph in Germany.

Despite being one of the very best players never to win the Champions League, the centre-back – whose brilliance belied his five-foot-nine frame – enjoyed a fair amount of success at club level, helping Real Madrid to successive La Liga titles in 2006/07 and 2007/08 (and he would have had two Serie A crowns to his name too, if not for Juventus' implication in the Calciopoli scandal which saw them stripped of the Scudetto in 2004/05 and 2005/06).

1. John Terry

The best defender of the 00s, probably the best in Chelsea's history, and quite possibly the best of the Premier League era, John Terry was simply immense at the back – for England as well as the Blues, with whom he spent the vast majority of his career.

As Chelsea skipper, Terry – who also wore the armband for his country from 2006 to 2010 – became the first player to captain a team to five Premier League titles – the first three of which came in 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2009/10 – and received the PFA Players' Player of the Year award for the 2004/05 season.

One of the highest-scoring defenders in Premier League history, Terry's career was not without off-field controversy – but his exploits on the pitch during the first decade of the 21st century were unparalleled.